Hit by the slumping economy and the lure of ABQ Uptown, Nob Hill retailers are reaching out to the state to help boost sagging sales.

On Sept. 25, the Nob Hill Business Association met with Rich Williams, the head of New Mexico’s Office of Economic Development MainStreet program. It is currently helping 21 downtowns throughout the state improve their retail sales. MainStreet offers a variety of tactics, from improved streetscapes to marketing campaigns to training. It does not give cash infusions or loans, but its capital outlays to communities exceed $2 million annually.

“The meeting went well and we will move forward with an application because we think the state can offer us comprehensive help,’’ said Jim Neustal, president of the Nob Hill Business Association and owner of Peacecraft at 3215 Central Ave. “I’m not kidding myself, we need some help to help make Nob Hill viable for independent retailers moving forward.”

Williams asked Neustal and his board to organize a Town Meeting that would include property owners and business leaders to be held in late October. The meeting would clarify Nob Hill’s needs and would lead to filing an application. Just two communities statewide will be selected for the program in 2009 and those selected will enter the program next spring. Nob Hill will compete with Española, Belen, Los Lunas, Ruidoso and Truth and Consequences. In T&C, 18 businesses have closed this year.

“Nob Hill looks pretty dynamic to me, but I’m hearing it’s getting hit by the economic downturn,” Williams said. “Nob Hill has a pretty good chance of getting help through our program because we don’t have too many urban areas apply. Most have been small towns under 10,000.”

While all retailers face a worsening economy, Nob Hill’s merchants complain of a triple whammy. The debut of ABQ Uptown in 2006 has lured some of Nob Hill’s clientele who are attracted to nationally recognized retailers such as Apple, Anthropology and Coldwater Creek. As Nob Hill’s business softened, retail rents along its core Central Avenue storefronts have climbed to well over $20 per square foot. Nob Hill rents had been in the $15 range five years ago. ABQ’s rents are $40 a square foot.

Another concern is the Daskalos Properties’ nearly completed, mixed-use project at Central and Wellesley, which has affected traffic for months. The new complex combines ground floor retail with condos above and is the largest new project in Nob Hill. Fast-growing American Apparel, a maker of youth-oriented casual apparel, has been rumored to have signed there. It would be its first New Mexico store.

While Nob Hill merchants don’t share their sales results with their association, Neustal has heard drops from as low as two percent to as high as 20 percent. He is down 8 to 10 percent at his nonprofit store. Nob Hill’s restaurants are doing better than the merchandise stores, he added, and that is readily apparent when walking along Central Avenue.

Empty storefronts are on the rise as some merchants are failing and some are moving. In the former Papergami storefront, a notice on the door from the building’s landlord demands $4,984 in back rent. The notice is dated May 22 and the store remains vacant. A few doors to the west, Natural Sounds’ store manager is packing up CDs. When asked why the store is moving, he responded, “Our rent here is $4,000 a month, but we found a new location two blocks away where the rent is $350 a month. Any other questions?”